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Onboarding SMEs and Startups in Thailand on Sustainability Journey and Roles of Financial Institutions to Accelerate Their Sustainability Transformation

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When envisioning a sustainable business, we can imagine those adopting practices such as embracing clean energy, incorporating social impact in a business’s decision-making, or having a diverse board of directors. Conceptually, sustainability encompasses environmental, social, and governance domains, but in this article, we will emphasize the environmental aspect due to the urgency and severity of environmental issues.

For a comprehensive shift towards sustainability across the entire economy, it is crucial to onboard Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and startups, which make up the majority of businesses in most countries. Therefore, supporting these smaller enterprises on their sustainability journey is essential.

Having SMEs and startups join the journey could present significant challenges for these businesses. Integrating sustainability practices may impact profit margins due to additional costs. Tasks like redesigning manufacturing systems for eco-friendliness and engaging external advisors for certification divert resources and attention from core functions. Given these formidable challenges, it is unsurprising that many of them have not prioritized sustainability or, in some cases, have outright rejected participation in the journey toward sustainability.

On the flip side, it is widely believed that sustainability transformation could equip SMEs and startups with the ability for greater value creation. From a financial perspective, they can anticipate top-line growth due to increased opportunities from entering new markets, forming partnerships, setting green price premiums, and so on. In the United States, SMEs and startups that hold strong sustainability propositions will have a higher chance to participate in public-private infrastructure projects than those with a smaller footprint in sustainability adoption. For the case of Long Beach, California, for-profit companies operating with low environmental impacts were selected to participate in the local public-private infrastructure construction projects such as developing the freeways and community areas.  Moreover, SMEs and startups can also envision a decrease in operational expenses attributable to mainly reduced waste in manufacturing processes, enhanced energy efficiency, and improved productivity. From a non-financial standpoint, businesses can enhance employee engagement by aligning values and interests on sustainability goals, thereby fostering a more engaged workforce, and has better recognition by the communities around it.

However, there is a possibility that SMEs and startups will be compelled to comply with ESG regulations in the future. Take the new regulation initiated by the EU as an example; the EU has introduced a carbon tariff policy called CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) to promote decarbonization by imposing taxes on those who export certain products that generate significant amounts of carbon to European countries. SMEs and startups operating in these areas will end up bearing higher costs, ultimately resulting in a loss of competitiveness. Therefore, business owners and management teams should keep this possibility on their radar and proactively consider sustainability transformation to avoid being forced into compliance.

To facilitate SMEs and startups in their journey toward sustainability, a ‘Sustainability Pathway for SMEs and Startups Framework’ will be employed. This framework includes four key steps: 1) establishing awareness, 2) understanding solutions, 3) implementing solutions, and 4) monitoring, to ensure the adoption and progress of the transition for SMEs and startups.

Sustainability Pathway for SMEs and Startups Framework

  • Establishing Awareness and Identifying Gaps:

The primary and crucial step for SMEs and startups is to cultivate awareness regarding the necessity and value of sustainability transformation for their business such as understanding what their path to sustainability entails, ability to identify weak points in their businesses, and current limitations in filling the gap. Without a proper education or a comprehensive understanding of the potential benefits, they might experience a lack of motivation and could potentially abandon the transformation process prematurely.

  • Understanding Available Solutions:

Once SMEs and startups understand the potential benefits associated with embracing sustainability, the subsequent step involves strategizing the path forward. During this stage, SMEs and startups need to gather data about sustainability solutions such as available technologies in the market, methods for integrating sustainability solutions into their core business, anticipated impacts on their business resulting from the adoption of these solutions, and external source of funds.

  • Implementing Solutions:

At the implementation stage, there are three main tasks that SMEs and startups need to get involved in consisting of goal setting and planning, onboarding stakeholders, and executing the plan.

      • Goal Setting and Planning:

SMEs and startups must establish clear sustainability goals based on their potential capacities. For instance, those in manufacturing might target short-term carbon reduction and long-term neutrality. To determine the level of sustainability they aspire to achieve, SMEs and startups might need to strike a balance between the costs and benefits they would incur. Given their resource constraints, SMEs and startups should break down the entire processes of their business to identify the critical areas e.g., waste management process that they can integrate sustainable practice while creating the highest possible impacts.

      • Onboarding Stakeholders:

Once a clear goal and plan are established, the subsequent step involves securing the buy-in from relevant stakeholders. For example, SMEs and startups may need to persuade their shareholders to adopt sustainability standards, which could entail accepting additional costs during the transformation. Furthermore, SMEs and startups will need to engage in communication with their suppliers and customers to establish a sustainable supply chain that is transparent and has ethical sourcing practices. Lastly, it is crucial to communicate the goals and plans across the organization, ensuring alignment among employees in pursuit of the same direction.

      • Executing the Plans:

During the execution process, SMEs and startups will touch on several activities such as acquiring technology and integrating it with their core business, recruiting talents with domain expertise in sustainability, arranging training sessions for employees, and securing sources of funds. Among others, sourcing funds is pivotal and challenging for SMEs and startups. Given their resource limitations, securing the funding to support the transformation should be a primary focus for business owners.

  • Monitoring:

The final step of sustainability transformation involves monitoring. SMEs and startups should start thinking about collecting data in order to generate reports for both internal use and regulatory compliance. Although SMEs and startups in most countries have not been directly required to submit a report to prove their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) footprint, some countries have started to demand evidence of carbon emissions and reduction efforts. Take CBAM as an example, SMEs and startups that currently export certain products to the EU will end up paying higher taxes if they cannot comply with the standards or have no solid evidence of their carbon footprint.      

Current Stage and Key Challenges of Sustainability Transformation of SMEs and Startups in Thailand

When we apply the sustainability pathway framework to SMEs and startups in Thailand, we have observed that the majority of SMEs and startups in Thailand are concentrated in the first two stages. We have discovered that the primary challenges hindering the progress of Thai SMEs and startups towards sustainability transformation are 1) Insufficient awareness about the significance of embracing sustainability and a lack of know-how and 2) Limited access to sustainable finance products.

  • Insufficient awareness about the significance of embracing sustainability and a lack of know-how

During our research, we found that not so many SMEs and startups in Thailand are fully aware of how sustainability can help create value. Some of them also perceive that sustainability is relevant only to large corporations and the adoption of sustainability practices is more in terms of costs rather than benefits. Even though some of them are starting to realize the significance of embracing sustainability, they lack the know-how and are still struggling with where to start and what solutions they should adopt. Furthermore, the majority of transformation activities have been primarily driven by financial institutions (FIs), instead of business owners. Based on our preliminary interview, most deals are initiated by the product development teams of financial institutions to pitch the benefits of being sustainable and offer financial solutions to corporate clients directly.

  • Limited access to sustainable finance products

We found that the lack of widely accessible sustainable finance products prevents various SMEs and startups in Thailand from participating in sustainability transformation. Currently, the two main products circulated by financial institutions in the Thai market are 1) sustainable bonds and 2) sustainable loans which provide lower-cost financing for investments that are qualified as ‘sustainable’ per the Thai government’s guidelines[1] including but not limited to climate action, clean water and sanitation, no poverty etc. These products are currently available for certain types of businesses such as solar energy, waste management, reuse and recycle materials, and digital green innovation. The requirements set by FIs for these products are highly stringent, stemming from greenwashing concerns, and often costly to be qualified. For instance, the green project that wants to apply for sustainable loans must be certified by a certain government agency to ensure compliance or have to provide a performance evaluation summary report, prepared by either the company itself or by a third-party advisor. Additionally, companies must maintain their solid financial position, with a Debt-to-Equity ratio lower than 3x. Given these conditions, these products inadvertently become reserved for large corporations that can afford to meet these obligations. As a result, the current sustainable finance products remain out of reach for some SMEs and startups in Thailand.

Roles of Financial Institutions to Accelerate the Sustainability Transformation of SMEs and Startups in Thailand

The journey towards sustainability transformation demands the active participation of every stakeholder, ranging from the public and private sectors to individual consumers. FIs are also considered as one of the most important key players to accelerate the process given their substantial capital and human resources, and extensive outreach channels to SMEs and startups. Considering the challenges that SMEs and startups in Thailand are facing, FIs could help support and accelerate SMEs and startups to the next stage of sustainability transformation and participate in each step of the Sustainability Pathway for SMEs and Startups Framework as follows.

Roles of FIs in Promoting Awareness:

  • Creating demand for sustainability among customers will draw the attention of SMEs and startups to start thinking about sustainability transformation. To initially attract individuals, FIs can consider introducing new financial initiatives that generate demand among individuals. For example, FIs can offer carbon credit cards, enabling cardholders to track and measure their carbon footprint for each purchase and offset their carbon emissions by investing in renewable energy projects. Once individuals adopt a sustainability mindset, they can drive more demand for sustainable products and services afterward.
  • FIs can leverage their sales representatives to support the sustainable product development process, introduce sustainable finance products and educate about the potential impact of sustainability transformation on their top-line growth and cost reduction to SMEs and startups. This idea is based on the rationale that sales representatives have a deep understanding about existing sustainable finance products and have direct contact to SMEs and startups so they are able to truly recommend suitable products and services to bridge the gap.

Roles of FIs in Helping SMEs and Startups to Understand Solutions:

  • FIs can collaborate with government agencies to offer technical assistance services to SMEs and startups. This partnership would enable government agencies to assist SMEs and startups in various activities, such as providing professional advice on energy efficiency improvements, conducting technical workshops on resource efficiency, and performing energy efficiency assessments for facilities. This collaboration leverages the extensive customer base of SMEs that FIs have, allowing government agencies to expand their outreach to a broader range of SMEs and startups.
  • FIs can also partner with third-party sustainable solution providers owning services such as clean energy technology, waste management, sustainable consultancy service, etc. to offer such suitable solutions to their SME and startup clients. This represents a win-win situation where FIs can assist their clients in becoming familiar with the range of available solutions by connecting their clients with experts and can introduce their related sustainable finance products to these clients. Simultaneously, these third-party solution providers could expand their business by tapping into FIs’ customer base.

Roles of FIs in Assisting Implementation:

  • FIs can expand the range of sustainable finance products available in the market for SMEs and startups so they can partake in this sustainability transformation. For example, FIs can consider introducing more financial products such as social loans and microfinance for women and minority-owned businesses, credit guarantees for green projects operated by SMEs and startups, or green securitizations (a process of transforming illiquid assets such as wind or solar projects owned by SMEs and startups into tradable financial instruments[2]) that allow SMEs and startups access to additional sources of funds apart from traditional ones.
  • FIs can consider leverage funding and credit lines extended from international financial institutions as it might be challenging for FIs to lower their bar in providing loans to SMEs and startups due to greenwashing concerns and associated risks given the size of the company at the moment. Promoting sustainability transformations of SMEs and startups is one of the focuses of these international financial institutions but they lack a direct channel to provide loans to these targets in various countries. Therefore, they work through intermediaries, mostly local commercial banks in those countries. For example, FIs can consider partnering with ADB to co-lend on projects developed by SMEs and startups or to provide credit guarantees for green bonds issued by SMEs and startups. This approach will allow local FIs to have increased flexibility in providing sustainable loans as it reduces risk, including longer-term finance risks by sharing them with other lenders, and receiving technical assistance and training so that SMEs and startups can develop more feasible projects.

Roles of FIs in Supporting Monitoring:

  • FIs can develop their monitoring solutions or collaborate with third-party providers who possess advanced monitoring and reporting technologies and provide access to SMEs and startups at a reasonable price. Simultaneously, FIs should encourage SMEs and startups to collect their data throughout the sustainability transformation journey by including it as a requirement when such SMEs or startups want to apply for sustainable finance products. From this, SMEs and startups would be well-equipped in terms of reporting for their internal improvement and future regulatory compliance.

Final Thoughts

Successful sustainability transformations can lead to increased value creation for SMEs and startups. However, addressing challenges like awareness and access to sustainable finance products is crucial. FIs have a vital role to play in supporting these enterprises along their sustainability journey. However, it is essential to expand sustainability goals beyond the environmental aspect to encompass addressing social and governance concerns, as there is substantial room for improvement in these areas. As Thailand moves towards a sustainable economy, collaboration and innovation will be key in ensuring the prosperity of the nation in the long run.

 

 

Author: Warittha Chalanonniwat (Paeng)

Editors: Wanwares Boonkong (Pin), Woraphot Kingkawkantong (Ping)

Special shout-out: Pirada Choophungart (Nina)

 

References:

  • https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/five-ways-that-esg-creates-value
  • https://www.oecd.org/southeast-asia/regional-programme/networks/OECD-Facilitating-the-green-transition-for-ASEAN-SMEs.pdf
  • https://www.climatebonds.net/files/reports/asean_green_fin_istruments_cbi_012019_0.pdf
  • https://www.exim.go.th/en/About-Exim-Thailand/Sustainable-Development/Sustainable-Finance-Framework.aspx
  • https://ie.unc.edu/clean-tech-post/what-is-green-finance-and-why-it-matters/
  • https://kpmg.com/th/en/home/media/press-releases/2022/04/green-financing.html
  • https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/green-growth-unlocking-sustainability-opportunities-for-retail-bank

[1] https://thailand.opendevelopmentmekong.net/topics/sustainable-development-goals/

[2] https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/March17_CBI_Briefing_Green_Securisation.pdf

Beacon VC announces its new fund “Beacon Impact Fund”, Leads the way for ESG

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Beacon Venture Capital (Beacon VC), the corporate venture arm of KASIKORNBANK, has just announced that it is launching the Beacon Impact Fund, a $30M impact investment fund.  The fund will make equity investments in for-profit startups seeking to create positive impact on ESG issues.  Beacon will look to invest in startups tackling a broad array of problems, but key areas of interest include:

  • Environmental Issues: Decarbonization, Waste Reduction, and Climate Adaptation
  • Social Issues: Financial and Digital Inclusion, Financial and Digital Literacy, and Access to Health Care 
  • Governance Issues: Consumer Protection, Supply Chain Visibility, and Business Transparency

The fund is targeting startups that can create quantifiable, sustainable, and scalable impact to one or more of the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.  Like Beacon’s past investments, the impact fund will invest in post-revenue companies with demonstrated customer traction and high scalability.

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director of Beacon Venture Capital, said that “it is clear that the whole world needs to come together to support sustainable change.  As a long-time leader in the Thai venture capital industry, we see a great opportunity to support passionate entrepreneurs, both in Thailand and throughout the region, who are looking to make a difference in the world.  We firmly believe that consumers want to support sustainability and inclusivity, and that technology can make it easier for them to express their preferences and incentivize businesses to consider both the positive and negative impact from their operations.”  

He noted that governments, financial institutions, and large corporations are all seeking new solutions to help them achieve ESG goals, and startups are well positioned to develop new innovations to help accelerate the shift to a sustainable economy.  Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong added that “as a CVC, we believe that driving conversation and collaboration between startups and large corporations like KASIKORNBANK can magnify the impact that these innovative solutions have on Thailand and the world.  Our hope is to inspire investors and institutions to take a proactive approach to creating impact, and to support new generations of innovators to solve the planet’s biggest problems.”

While investing in positive social impact through the new Beacon Impact Fund, Beacon noted that ESG risk and its impact is important for companies in all industries.Therefore, Beacon is also continuing to work with all of its existing portfolio companies to encourage sustainable behavior and consider their impact on the environment and the world.  

The Beacon Impact Fund is part of KASIKORNBANK’s overall sustainability strategy and leadership vision in the field of ESG finance.  Both Beacon and KASIKORNBANK are committed to upholding ESG principles and paving the way for Thailand’s transition into the new sustainable world.

What is Digital Inequality and Why does it Matter?

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Digitalization has influenced banking services around the world to move online. It is common these days to see bank branches closing down as many commercial banks have shifted their focus to digital banking in order to better serve customers’ demands and satisfaction. However, even in countries like Thailand, which is known for having high smartphone and social media penetration rates, many people are still needing to wait in line at bank branches to conduct their own financial transactions or to seek assistance in obtaining government financial aid (aid which is provided via an online system such as “Khon La Khrueng” or คนละครึ่ง). Understanding why these situations occur helps to highlight the fundamental problems that need to be fixed to ensure that everyone is included in the new digital economy.

 

What are the Causes of Digital Inequality?

Digital inequality refers to the disparities in knowledge and ability to use digital and information technology based on different demographics, socioeconomic backgrounds, and information technology experience and competencies. The problem is not merely one of access, as disparities also exist among people who have access to digital technology. The digital gap is also caused by lower-performance computers, lower-speed wireless connections, and limited access to subscription-based content.

 

These disparities stem from barriers in three areas: availability, affordability, and adoption.

  1. Availability: digital infrastructure needed to access online services through alternative channels, such as wireless data plan, wired broadband, and fiber services.
  2. Affordability: to stay connected, individuals must pay for device acquisition and service subscriptions, which are continuous expenses. 
  3. Adoption: people are prevented from utilizing the internet by knowledge hurdles, such as a lack of digital literacy or educational constraints.

 

Digital Inequality is a Human Rights Issue

Computers and smart devices have become vital to almost every aspect of daily life, from fundamental activities like paying bills and shopping, to more enjoyable activities like entertainment and socializing. They are also essential for maintaining relationships with loved ones. Access to the internet has opened up new opportunities for employment, health care, financial support, and pursuing both informal and formal education. Those without access to the internet are missing out on information that may help them find jobs, online entertainment, and many other essentials. Research shows that households that adopted broadband are on average 8.1% more likely to be employed, and earned on average 2,202 USD higher annual household income. Lack of internet access has also been consistently linked to a high risk of mortality from COVID-19. Hence, the capability to access and work with data and digital technology should be considered as fundamental human rights. Without it, there are no opportunities to access what the knowledge economy and digital connectivity can provide.

 

Is Inequality Persistent in Thailand?

Thai people are renowned for being active online with some of the highest proportions of social media users in the world. Approximately 50.05 million Facebook users are located in Thailand, representing 71.5% of the country’s population. The smartphone penetration rate was 59.3% in 2022, ranking Thailand the 12th place in the world. Thailand also ranks 87th in the world with 54.5 million internet users (77.8% of the country’s total population).

 

While Thailand’s internet availability is high, affordability and adoption remain problematic. According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and TDRI, only 21% of Thai households have computers, which is lower than the global average and the developing countries’ average, at 49% and 38% respectively. Moreover, computer affordability is worse for low-income households. According to the National Statistical Office of Thailand in 2017, only 3% of low-income households (households with an average annual income of less than 200,000 baht) have Internet-connected computers, compared to 19% of households with higher income. Low accessibility to proper digital devices has caused immense inequality for Thai students’ education, especially since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has widened the gap of digital divide among students as learning has been moved online. Recent studies suggest  that learning loss will be the greatest among low-income students as they are less likely to have access to high-quality remote learning or to a conducive learning environment, such as a quiet space with minimal distractions, to devices they do not need to share, to high-speed internet, and to parental academic supervision. 

 

Digital inequality has not only amplified the importance of technology in education, but also affected the wellbeing of Thais. During the pandemic, the Thai government offered subsidy programs to help Thai citizens with their economic hardships. The most well-known package was “Khon La Khrueng”, roughly translated as “Let’s Go Halves”, in which the government subsidized half of all qualifying payments via an e-wallet application. To sign up for government’s aid and make payments, individuals needed to have internet-capable devices, data plans, and access to Wi-Fi to receive the benefit. 

 

Given Thailand’s smart device penetration rate of 59.3%, this meant that almost half the Thai population were excluded from the government program. Challenges also emerged in relation to adoption: elderly and low-income persons who were likely to be targets of such campaigns were also less likely to be familiar with using mobile applications.  

 

Due to these issues, the government was pressured to allow people to register for “Khon La Khrueng” offline at branches of government-supported banks, resulting in lengthy waiting lines. The congestion at the banks made many people lose work opportunities while still not alleviating the struggle to register for the package. This case truly highlights the need for digital education to be able to obtain a fundamental support population in the present world. 

 

What Has Been Done to Reduce Digital Inequality

As highlighted previously, there are three main obstacles that prevent the realization of digital inclusion: availability, affordability, and adoption. This section will focus on the approaches taken by private organizations, governments, and financial institutions to reduce the gap in each dimension.

 

Availability

Hardware innovation has emerged as a way to improve the accessibility of the internet. Starlink, a low-latency broadband internet system project, has introduced the internet via satellite, which is expected to benefit people in remote areas where telecom cell sites and fixed broadband internet services are inaccessible. The average download speed for Starlink is slightly below the average for the entire fixed wireless internet category, at 105 Mbps and 131 Mbps respectively (though far better than rivals Viasat and HughesNet). Although there is still much to be done (Starlink will likely need at least 10,000 satellites to cover a majority of the globe), rapid progress has already been made, with Starlink available in 32 countries, using more than 2,300 satellites.

 

Governments are also acknowledging and trying to solve this infrastructure issue. Net Pracharat, a nationwide project aimed to extend high-speed internet to all villages in Thailand, covered 24,700 villages with free public Wi-Fi hotspots in 2017 and reached 6.6 million users in 2019. However, problems remain. Internet use from community locations declined during the pandemic as a result of concerns regarding the spread of Covid-19 in public areas.  Similar projects have been developed to increase internet connectivity, including National Broadband Plan (Philippines) and Palapa Ring (Indonesia). This highlights the need to expand internet connectivity programs to households, not just public areas. 

 

Recently, Kasikornbank has introduced “Solar Plus”, offering a free of charge service of solar roof installation for Thai households. Proven by Teltonika and Bartech, the service could be combined with cellular routers, offering internet connectivity for households. This self-sustained technology would provide the end-users superior internet connection in places without access to the power distribution grid. It would therefore allow expansion of internet connectivity at a more affordable price.

 

Affordability

Although the price of internet devices has been declining, upfront costs remain a major barrier for the low-income population. Thus, some governments have implemented smartphone and computer subsidies for low-income or senior citizens to increase adoption. For example, Singapore has a program called “Mobile Access for Seniors” which provides subsidized smartphones and mobile plans to low-income seniors.  The Singaporean government has also offered affordable-price computers to students or persons with disabilities who come from low-income households via the project “NEU PC Plus”. The Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications in collaboration with smartphones’ manufacturers launched a universal smartphone program, aiming to push smartphone penetration to 100% by reducing the price of a smartphone to approximately 20 USD. 

 

Private entities have also begun finding ways to reduce this gap. For example, UOB launched a project called “UOB My Digital Space” which provided students in Singapore with digital learning devices including a new laptop and a Wi-Fi dongle with monthly data usage together with online learning resources to take them beyond the school curricula for their longer-term development.

 

Adoption

To date, most efforts aimed at closing the digital inequality gap have focused primarily on availability and affordability problems. Although investment by government and private sector players to build out the requisite infrastructure and make internet service affordable are critical, the benefits will not be fully realized if households lack the knowledge to use and fully realize the benefit of these services. Accordingly, several startups have emerged to tackle this challenge. Jules, a Singapore-based startup, works with 200 preschools in Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan and China to train children between the ages of four to eight in computational thinking. The company runs a “School of Fish” curriculum where children are taught digital skills such as programming, animation, and game design through games and animated storytelling. Ruangguru is an Indonesia-based startup that collaborated with the country’s Ministry of Communication and Informatics (Kominfo) to create Indonesia’s Digital Literacy Space Program in 2021. The company created content that covers digital security, digital ethics, and digital culture. The program is expected to train 50 million students by 2024. In addition to startup efforts, Saturday School, a Thai educational non-profit foundation, creates the Saturday Film camping program aiming to equip students with the skills necessary to convey stories through various kinds of media. The foundation has also partnered with corporations to foster children’s digital literacy via several projects including Young Safe Internet Leader Camp Version 1.0.

 

Financial institutions are also launching initiatives to increase digital literacy. KLOUD is an example of a project by Kasikornbank that aims to facilitate individuals’ learning by offering a co-working space to offer an alternative space to students who lack internet access or appropriate learning environments. KLOUD also hosts knowledge sharing events for the public, including financial literacy, cyber literacy and green awareness. 

 

The adoption barrier is also a huge threat for ASEAN nations competing in the digital economy. Despite having the third largest population in the world, the sixth highest GDP, and the fourth highest trade value, ASEAN’s digital economy only accounts for 7% of its GDP, lagging behind China’s 16%, the EU-5’s 27%, and the US’s 35%. Accordingly, the Go Digital ASEAN program was launched to increase digital skills participation across all 10 ASEAN nations, reaching everyone from farmers and home-based handicrafts producers to small-scale hotels, restaurants, and shops. The project has already reached Phase 2, which will provide more advanced training for up to 200,000 underserved MSMEs on skills like business and financial literacy.

 

Closing Thoughts

Digital inequality is not all about internet connectivity. Despite considerable investment to develop the necessary infrastructure, the advantages will not be fully realized until people embrace and use the services. In other words, the affordability of data plans and devices together with digital literacy are essential to cope with the digital divide.

 

Although the situation of digital inequality in Thailand is relatively less severe compared to neighboring countries, many Thai students were still left behind when in-class instruction switched to online learning. Thais from lower socio-economic backgrounds were also left behind with unequal access to government programs intended to provide economic relief.

So far, both private and public sectors have made tremendous efforts to narrow the digital gap and include all people in digital transformation. Still, there are countless steps left to reach the goal of digital equality. Research shows that digital agents are crucial for getting people to adapt to digital technology. Banks can utilize their current resources, primarily staff and physical branches, to deploy agents and help close the inequality gap. Particularly in Thailand, bank branches are all over the country and can play a leading role in driving adoption in rural areas. As financial transactions are increasingly executed online, instead of laying off branch staff, banks may consider changing their role from day-to-day transaction operators to digital navigators who can educate banks’ clients in-person about how to make financial transactions online, troubleshoot issues, and other digital skills such as helping them to become familiar with banks’ digital products. This transformation shortens the time to achieve the goal of digital equality. 

 

Banks may also share digital infrastructure to individuals, which could help increase the level of internet accessibility, especially in the rural areas where households rarely have internet access. Since branches and ATMs always need to be connected with the internet, banks might see an opportunity to split the network and share public Wi-Fi to facilitate bank-related activities.  A similar project was seen in New York City in 2015, using payphones instead of ATMs.  In that program (LinkNYC), payphones in New York City were transformed into free Wi-Fi hotspots. 

 

In conclusion, all three factors that contribute to digital inequality (availability, affordability, and adoption) must be considered as part of the transition plan so that all humans have equal opportunity to thrive in the new digital economy.

 

About Beacon Impact Fund

In recent years, society has placed an ever-growing level of importance on social impact.  As seen in the examples above, many of the world’s problems (whether they be categorized as environmental, social, or governance issues) are being tackled by startups, which are well suited for the fast experimentation and innovation needed to address these problems. Kasikornbank, as one of Thailand’s leading financial institutions, has also launched many ESG initiatives to help drive Thailand’s transition to a sustainable economy, including several of the projects discussed previously regarding digital inequality.  It is clear that affecting material change to these areas requires active participation by all.

 

Beacon VC sees a great opportunity to not only support these startups which are seeking to create positive social impact, but also to drive the conversation and collaboration between startups and large corporations to magnify and accelerate that impact, and is proud to announce the launch of the Beacon Impact Fund.  Beacon Impact Fund is a 30 MUSD fund that will invest in for-profit startups that have quantifiable, sustainable, and scalable impact. Beacon Impact Fund intends to invest to accelerate the shift to a sustainable economy, improve social equality by promoting financial inclusion, digital literacy, and equal-opportunity growth, and to support good governance and privacy protections in both business and consumer markets.  The hope is for the Beacon Impact Fund to inspire new generations of innovators to solve the planet’s biggest challenges, and to inspire investors and institutions to take a proactive approach to creating impact, as achieving meaningful impact will require support by all stakeholders.

 

References:

https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights/industry/public-sector/state-broadband-access-digital-divide.html

https://tdri.or.th/en/2020/05/covid-19-emphasizes-the-need-to-bridge-the-digital-divide-and-reduce-online-educational-inequality/

https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-united-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime

https://www.ookla.com/articles/starlink-hughesnet-viasat-performance-q4-2021

https://thailand.un.org/sites/default/files/2021-12/eBAT-ebat_21-00630_E-learning-Thailand-Mapping-digital-divide%5B95%5D%5B83%5D%5B100%5D.pdf

https://saturday-school.org/partner-with-us/

https://www.iseas.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/ISEAS_Perspective_2021_50.pdf

https://hanoitimes.vn/vietnam-to-universalize-cheap-smartphones-to-entire-population-311236.html

https://www.bain.com/contentassets/37a730c1f0494b7b8dac3002fde0a900/report_advancing_towards_asean_digital_integration.pdf

https://teltonika-networks.com/industries/use-cases/solar-powered-remote-wi-fi-

https://futurumresearch.com/futurum-tech-webcast/the-digital-divide-where-is-the-telco-industry-in-its-journey-to-closing-that-divide-futurum-tech-webcast/

 

 

Author: Supamas Bunmee (Jae)
Editors: Krongkamol Deleon (Joy), Woraphot Kingkawkantong (Ping)

KBank touts the success of its Thai startup enabler program which creates business models for sustainable growth

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KASIKORNBANK has touted the success of its KATALYST STARTUP LAUNCHPAD 2022 program to equip participants with a ‘Recipe for Success’ for world-class startups. During an eight-week intensive course, a total of eight teams were shortlisted to pitch their ideas in the competition to win cash prizes and solutions to accelerate business growth, which are worth more than 800,000 Baht. In the final round, “Project EV” won the 1st prize for its business plan on comprehensive solutions for the conversion of internal combustion engine (ICE) for commercial trucks to electric vehicles (EVs) for businesses, plus charging station installation service at product distribution centers. As Thai startups have showcased innovative ideas which focus more on sustainability in line with the prevailing business trend, KBank plans to continue supporting Thai startups with more projects to come.

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Managing Director, Beacon Venture Capital Co., Ltd, (Beacon VC), said that the KATALYST STARTUP LAUNCHPAD 2022 program has been conceived from KBank’s commitment to the development of Thai startups to ensure their solid growth. Focus has been on equipping them with knowledge and numerous techniques so that they have a better understanding of real-world business practices, especially through training courses imparted by experts. The activity aims to enable participants to create their own business infrastructure and apply knowledge gained in a tangible manner. KBank has organized this activity for the third consecutive year. In 2022, more than 250 startups signed up for the project, 65 of which passed the selection criteria to participate in the training. They come from a diverse range of businesses, covering all needs in the market, and have the capabilities to strengthen the ecosystem.

Throughout the eight-week intensive training, participating startups attended a program which is part of the Stanford Thailand Research Consortium’s research projects, led by Associate Professor Charles (Chuck) Eesley of Stanford University. In this session, they were equipped with knowledge on the startup business that places emphasis on sustainable growth. The final eight startups, with outstanding performance, were selected to present to a panel of judges their diverse range of unique ideas, such as educational, health and agricultural technologies, electric vehicle engineering, advanced hydro technology, and carbon credit solutions. Many of the participating startups presented interesting ideas that meet the business sector’s needs in the transition to a green society.

Regarding the contest results, the winning team is “Project EV” for its comprehensive solutions of the conversion of an internal combustion engine (ICE) car to an electric vehicle (EV) for logistics business clients. The second runner-up is HealthTAG for its idea of blockchain-based medical data management service that could lead to the seamless exchange, linkage, and integration of patient-centric health data. The third runner-up was the LEET CARBON Team, which developed a solution designed for managing, tracking, and monitoring carbon credit projects by using geospatial data and nature-based solutions efficiently and transparently. All three winning teams received prize money and the solutions for accelerating their business growth. The combined value of prizes under the project topped 800,000 Baht. Additionally, participants who meet all the program criteria will receive a certificate from KATALYST by KBank and a statement of participation from Stanford Online for completing the online learning program. This also provides a great opportunity for business network expansion with several leading domestic and international companies.

Mr. Thanapong added, “KBank will continue to organize activities to promote the startup community in various forms such as seminars for knowledge and experience sharing, projects for business collaboration with KBank, advisory service and solutions to enhance startup capability and efficiency in operating their business for long-term sustainable growth.”

Venture capital arms under 2 leading Thai banks, Kasikornbank and Bank of Ayudhya, participate in the Seed round of Forward DeFi

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Forward, a Thai digital asset and blockchain startup focusing on protocol development for decentralized derivative exchange and DeFi platform, has successfully closed its USD 5 million seed round within just 6 months of fundraising, despite severe economic uncertainty and high volatility in the digital asset landscape.

The round was led by RPVAF-1, a global VC fund under Primestreet Capital, with participation from

  • Beacon Venture Capital from Kasikornbank;
  • KASIKORN X from Kasikornbank;
  • Krungsri Finnovate from Bank of Ayudhya, a member of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG); and

together with Ratanakorn Technology Group, GBV Capital and Varys Capital who have confirmed their investments earlier in this round.

Chanon Charatsuttikul, Co-founder and CEO of Forward, revealed that Forward is the world’s first DeFi project to receive investments from global funds and two major Thai banks. “I believe that there is hope for Thailand to become a center of innovation and technology. We have investors who are ready to support new talents. The closing of this seed round, for me, is the beginning of a big challenge for the team to maximize our potential and grow the organization, and help make Thailand stand out as a country of innovation, just like western countries.

“The majority of trading volume occurs at Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and it mainly comes from derivative products. The trading volume of derivative products is approximately 3 times larger than the spot volume and it is still growing. Thus, Forward is focusing on developing a decentralized derivative platform, which is non-custodial with a system that prohibits transactions from sanctioned countries and addresses.  We have a strong team backed by PhDs working day and night to develop a newly invented protocol, called the Automated Position Hedger (APH), which is unlike anything seen before. In addition, we always take it very seriously in terms of legal issues, accounting standards, and the safety of the investors’ assets,” Chanon added.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Udomsak Rakwongwan, Co-founder and Advisor, added that “We aim to develop Forward to be a ‘One Stop Service’ protocol, solving limitation and pain points in DeFi economy. It will be a secure and easy-to-use platform where users can earn sustainable investment returns. This means that the return generated to investors is a result of a solid and sustainable business model that was carefully designed for long-term operation. Our user-friendly interface will reduce the barrier to onboard new users to the blockchain space. For every single line of our coding, smart contract technical auditing is required and it will be performed by at least 2 trusted auditors.”

Supavat Nam Cholvanich, Co-founder and Partner of PrimeStreet Capital, the lead investor of this round, said: “With our finance background, we have a good interest in financial-related blockchain technology. Digital asset is a high volatility landscape, and we highly emphasize the importance of safety and sustainability of the protocol. Our team focus deeply on the tightness of all operating logic and, at the same time, look for a platform with meaningful enhanced features that has the potential to stand out and elevate DeFi ecosystem. We believe Forward is well set up and its DeFi platform should easily navigate through market volatility and grow sustainably in the digital asset world.”

 

About Forward

Forward is a digital asset and blockchain startup, founded by a group of developers and tech researchers. The founders’ prior success was the launch of a well-known regulated crypto exchange in Thailand. Forward is currently developing a newly invented protocol for decentralized derivative trading, where short and long positions are matched against each other using an advanced protocol named Automated Position Hedger (APH). Forward DDEX acts as a counterparty to instantly match users’ long and short perpetual Futures orders. As a result, Forward does not have limit order books and does not require market makers. The risk of the platform acting as a users’ counter-party is completely hedged using the tokens in the lending and borrowing pools.

Beacon VC invests in T2P to strengthen KBank’s status, focusing on B2B2C e-wallet solutions

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To strengthen the status of KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Beacon Venture Capital Company Limited (Beacon VC) has announced its investment in T2P– a leading fintech firm in financial solutions – in order to develop the e-wallet business under the B2B2C model (Business to Business to Consumer). The initiative will allow customers to have a seamless service experience throughout the ecosystem, from application to interbank transactions and payment – both incoming and outgoing – with cost effectiveness. The company aims to advance the e-wallet business in order to provide digital lending while also adding payment acceptance channels.

 

Mr. Thanapong Na Ranong, Beacon VC Managing Director, said, “The company’s investment policy focuses on scouting and supporting innovative startups with potential, with the aim of enhancing KBank services. We have lately conducted strategic investment in T2P Co., Ltd. – a renowned fintech firm with long experience in financial solutions targeting corporate customers under the B2B2C model.

 

The joint investment aims to bolster KBank’s strengths through the e-wallet business order to better serve its corporate customers. This move will leverage the Bank’s strengths in financial business thanks to a strong base of more than 20 million retail customers and financial technology structure, together with the expertise and capability of T2P teams in developing the system for business and financial data linkage, including incoming and outgoing payment, with the aim of creating a seamless service experience throughout the supply chain, from the application process to interbank transactions and money acceptance-payment at the most competitive management cost.”

 

T2P Co., Ltd. is a comprehensive provider of B2B2C financial service solutions such as payment system, funds transfer, and white label e-wallets for corporate customers to settle goods and services payments via numerous channels nationwide. Presently, T2P enjoys a growth rate of more than 70 percent. T2P’s platforms offer services to more than 30 leading corporate clients who have more than 9 million retail customer accounts.

 

Ms. Supaneewan Chutrakul, KBank Executive Vice President, said, “KBank has promoted the use of digital solutions in the development of financial services for corporate customers and customer networks throughout the supply chain.” Strategies in the development of financial solutions to create business opportunities under this joint venture comprise the following:

 

1. Development of B2B2C e–wallet to meet the needs of corporate clients of the Bank while also creating a satisfactory experience in conducting inter-bank and e-wallet transactions and in using products with more than 30 corporate clients of T2P, who have a retail customer base of more than 9 million accounts.

 

2. Development of API to link various financial services of KBank with B2B2C clients of the Bank via the white label e-wallet service, which is one of T2P’s strengths like top-up, payment and cash withdrawal services, thus allowing them to fully meet customers’ needs.

 

3. Adopting the technological structure of e–wallet to enhance the potential of advanced digital lending. The Bank is considering the adoption of T2P’s technology for controlling and monitoring spending transactions through designated channels and participating stores based on specific purposes, while also facilitating payments for outstanding loans.

 

Mr. Taweechai Pureetip, CEO and Founder of T2P Co. Ltd., said, “T2P has developed e-money platforms and solutions since 2011 to create comprehensive wallet platforms in response to financial and related transactions. The systems developed by the company are designed to integrate with the systems of partners, thus receiving great feedback from leading corporate clients. Additionally, the company aims to further develop more innovations and be a trusted partner in the payment ecosystem for corporations.”

 

This cooperative support from KBank through Beacon VC is another milestone that will strengthen the company’s technological development. The focus is to serve KBank’s corporate customers in offering their own large number of clients more convenient access to financial services of the new era. Moreover, this investment will enhance the company’s capability in coping with the rise of financial technology disruption by developing and expanding the company’s IT personnel to be ready for idea creation and innovations that are constantly changing.